CRYSTAL CITY, Texas – Crystal City ISD Interim Superintendent Richard Grill told families Tuesday evening the district has less than $500 in its bank account.
“On Thursday, to make payroll happen, we had less than $500 in our total bank account here," Grill said. “That’s amazing. 500 bucks. Not even $500. So that’s how broke the school district is."
Grill made the statement during a town hall on Tuesday, just days after the district announced 72 employees will be terminated to deal with an “imminent financial collapse”.
The district said the “Reduction in Force” included 68 at-will employees and four certified teachers. The at-will employees are “primarily instructional aides with a few clerical, maintenance, food service,” the district sent in a statement.
During the Tuesday evening town hall, Grill briefly addressed the salaries of the 72 people to be terminated.
“Out of 72 people, 68 of them were at-will employees and so a lot of those are people who make the least but some of them are some that made quite a bit, but that’s not why we let them go,” Grill said. “We didn’t base it on how much they made or didn’t make or how many years they had in or didn’t have. It was basically, do we need this many people? And obviously we don’t."
Grill highlighted several one-year plans the district has to save money and get out of it’s financial crisis.
The district plans to consolidate three elementary schools into one. Grill said the campuses will remain open but there will only be one principal in total.
The interim superintendent also said they plan to have a one-year salary freeze, reduce health insurance benefits, cut coach stipends in half and having parents pay for their children to play sports in Crystal City ISD.
Grill told parents he has met with a coach and wants to meet with the school board on June 1 to ensure a price point is decided on for sports that is feasible for families. He said they don’t plan to charge for equipment, but solely for the cost to transport kids to games and play in tournaments.
Grill said they have estimated around $100 per student per sport that student plays in high school and $80 per student per sport they play in middle school.
“When you hear me talk about some of the things that we’re going to do, you’re going say, I don’t like that,” Grill said. “Well, what’s the alternative? The alternative is the school districts going to close and it’s going to consolidate.
According to the TEA website, the Crystal City ISD has had a D rating academically each year since 2023.
“My objective is to help this district get out of the financial mess that it’s in and also out of the academic problems that we’re experiencing,” Grill said during the town hall. “Next year we’ll be in a probated status and if we don’t get it fixed next year the district will lose accreditation. So, the children who are sophomores today, if we won’t get this thing fixed their diplomas will mean nothing when they graduate.”
The next regular scheduled Crystal City ISD school board meeting is June 1 at 6 p.m. at 613-B W. Zavala St.
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